Other Loan Repayment Options

Alaska’s SHARP Program provides one support-for-service option for clinicians seeking loan repayment or scholarship opportunities. If you applied for SHARP but did not receive a placement, or you are interested in other loan repayment options, this page provides some possibilities.

National Health Service Corps

This program is open to licensed primary care medical, dental, and mental and behavioral health providers who are employed or have accepted an offer of employment at an NHSC-approved site. Awardees practice in a Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs). The amount of the award depends on the HPSA score. In FY2013 there were a total of 4,505 awards made (2,106 new and 2,399 continuations) totaling $169.7 million.

The Students to Service Program accepts students in their last year of medical school and provides tuition and loan repayment assistance. In return, students commit to serving for a minimum of three years in a Health Professional Shortage Area.

Indian Health Service Loan Repayment Program

The IHS Loan Repayment Program awards up to $40,000 for the repayment of qualified student loans in exchange for an initial two-year service commitment to practice at an approved site.

Nurse Corps Loan Repayment Program

The Nurse Corps Loan Repayment Program provides registered nurses (including advanced practice registered nurses and nursing faculty) with the opportunity to pay off 60 percent of unpaid nursing student loans in two years, with further repayment available for an optional third year. Check their website for more details.

Nurse Corps Scholarship Program

The HRSA Nurse Corps Scholarship Program enables students enrolled in nursing programs to receive funding for tuition and other educational costs in exchange for working at an eligible Critical Shortage Facility (CSF) upon graduation.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness

Public Service Loan Forgiveness offers borrowers the opportunity to continue to work full-time in public service and qualify for forgiveness of the remaining balance of their Direct Loans if they have already made 120 qualifying payments. Only loans received under the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program are eligible.

Dental School Loan Repayment Guide

WWAMI Program

WWAMI is a collaboration among universities in Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho administered by the University of Washington Medical School in Seattle. Alaska students attend the first year of medical school at the University of Alaska Anchorage. The second through fourth years of medical school are spent at the University of Washington where tuition is funded by the WWAMI program. This requires the student to enter into a loan agreement and incur a loan repayment obligation. Graduating medical students can satisfy their financial obligation by returning to Alaska to practice medicine. It is possible to participate in the SHARP Program during the loan repayment period by obtaining a waiver from the WWAMI Program.